Delta Air Lines is suspending a little-known service that provides special escorts and other airport perks to members of Congress until lawmakers sort out funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and restore pay to TSA officers.
Delta’s home hub at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport has been badly affected by the ongoing partial government shutdown, with lines for TSA checkpoints taking hours to clear at some points of the day.
On Sunday, nearly 42% of rostered TSA officers due to work at Atlanta Hartsfield called out sick. The agency has not released any figures yet for Monday or Tuesday.
To ease some pressure on understaffed TSA security checkpoints, the DHS suspended all courtesy and family police escorts for Members of Congress early into the shutdown.
At the time, the DHS said the escorts were “drawing staff away from the critical mission of getting passengers screened.” The DHS suspension of special escorts has not, however, stopped local police departments and airlines from providing their own escorts to lawmakers.
Delta’s ‘Specialty Services Department’ has, however, continued providing escorts to members of Congress. That is now being put to a stop until funding for the TSA has been restored.
In a statement, a spokesperson confirmed to local media outlet AJC: “Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta.”
The statement added: “Next to safety, Delta’s No.1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.”
Last week, Delta chief executive Ed Bastian was one of 10 aviation leaders who signed an open letter to Congress, urging lawmakers to reach a bipartisan deal to fund the TSA.
“Once again, air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown,” the letter read. “Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long—and painfully slow—lines at checkpoints,” the letter continued. “Wait times of 2, 3, and even 4 hours have been reported.”
In Atlanta, the airport has removed TSA checkpoint wait time estimates because the situation is so dynamic. Instead, the airline is now urging passengers to arrive at the airport no later than four hours ahead of their scheduled departure time, and to give even more time if they have luggage to check in.
